Watching Wang scramble around frantically packing up his things like he was about to charge into battle right this second, Anthony couldn't help but twitch an eyebrow.
Seriously — they were just going to deal with the Year Beast. Why was his second eldest brother in such a rush?
"Slow down, don't be in such a hurry. Yes, we're purging the Year Beast — but we're not about to storm the Year Mausoleum and blow ourselves up with it," Anthony said flatly, giving Wang a smack on the back.
Wang blinked, then gave a grudging nod.
"Fair point."
He agreed, then promptly turned around and started walking in a completely different direction.
"We need to open the gates of the Year Mausoleum first."
He was going to go find the True Dragon to open the door. Right now.
"Get back here — we don't need to open the Year Mausoleum's gates!"
Anthony watched Wang march off and let out a long, drawn-out sigh. He called Wang back, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and said with the air of someone nursing a headache:
"You're not still planning on going at the Year Beast alone, are you?"
"You said the time was right. Doesn't that mean you'll be there too?"
Wang was quiet for a moment, then turned to face Anthony with that question.
Anthony's mouth twitched. Finally, with a helpless sigh, he spoke:
"Second Brother, for this one thing — we absolutely cannot do it with just the two of us."
"I've told you at the last gathering — stop being so stubborn about everything. Have you completely forgotten everything Jie used to say to you?"
Wang was silent for a long while. In the end, he exhaled slowly.
But even so, he never once voiced the thought of bringing the rest of their brothers and sisters into this.
"Just tell me directly what needs to be done," Wang finally said with a sigh, his eyes fixed on Anthony's.
"And tell me — how confident are you, really?"
"Relax. I'm completely confident. Not a single person will get hurt," Anthony said, twirling a strand of hair between his fingers and shrugging.
"As for purging the Year Beast — well, it's that big a deal, so naturally not a single brother or sister can be left out. Don't you think?"
He met Wang's gaze and finally spoke, word by deliberate word:
"Second Brother, it's not just you. Every single one of us has been living under the Year Beast's shadow. For a very long time now."
"Whatever happens, whether you like it or not — at the very least, they all have the right to be part of this. It's not your burden alone. It belongs to all of us."
Wang opened his mouth, closed it again, clearly holding something back.
"Don't worry. I promise you — no one will come to harm because of this," Anthony said, eyes narrowing slightly as he gave Wang that assurance.
After a long silence, Wang finally let out a sigh.
"Then — as you said. What's your plan?"
So now it was his turn to convince Wang, was it.
Anthony looked into Wang's eyes and read the meaning there clearly. He exhaled softly.
"Truthfully, when I say 'purging the Year Beast' — there's still quite a gap between that and actually finishing the job."
Anthony began slowly:
"There are only two ultimate goals. First, to resurrect Jie. Second, to make sure none of us ever has to face the chaos that comes when the Year Beast awakens again."
"To achieve both of those, we don't actually need to kill the Year Beast outright. That would create too many complications afterwards, and it'd be a tremendous waste."
Anthony sat down in front of the Go board, seeming to think it over for a moment before continuing:
"So the plan is: find a way to give that thing a thorough beating, find a way to meet the conditions for Jie's resurrection, then let the beast go into a permanent sleep."
His eyes narrowed as he said those last words.
"You're confident about this?"
Wang asked. Anthony answered with a smile:
"On my own? No. But with the rest of our brothers and sisters along? Absolutely."
If he was being totally honest, Anthony could probably take on the Year Beast by himself — assuming he had enough points to burn. The prerequisite being several million points, give or take.
But the question was, why go through all that trouble when there was no need?
Anthony glanced over at the glass panel still sitting in his warehouse, and a deeply satisfied smile spread across his face.
When the time came to fight inside the Year Beast's mindscape, he'd call in his eldest brother. The moment the Year Beast opened its eyes, they'd treat it to a live performance of what it truly meant to be the Ultimate Year Fantasy.
If three punches didn't kill it, he'd eat the loss himself.
He'd get Carmen in there too — inside the mindscape, Anthony figured he had just about enough points on hand to pull out that particular state of Shuo.
But the reason he still needed everyone else was mostly because the aftermath of dealing with the Year Beast was genuinely difficult to manage.
Sure, having his eldest brother knock it out in three punches was the easy part — but all the finer details were a real headache.
Like how to resurrect Jie. And how to handle all the cascading problems the Year Beast's existence had caused.
At the end of the day, this whole expedition was an off-the-books operation — unregistered, no report filed. If at all possible, Anthony preferred to resolve everything quietly.
Ideally, he'd have it all done and dusted before Sisuitai even realized what happened — and then they'd look up one day to find that the massive Year Beast had already been completely dealt with.
Which was precisely why he needed the other Year Shards to lend a hand.
And honestly, even Anthony himself needed a few of those Year Shards to help out a little.
After all, a man's got to eat, right?
This Year Beast was a long-term meal ticket. He wasn't about to let it go to waste.
A slow, meaningful smile spread across Anthony's face. Then he stepped up in front of Wang and said quietly:
"Anyway, that's roughly the situation."
"Next step is to gather the rest of our brothers and sisters. Once everyone's assembled and the prep work is done, we'll be ready to enter the Year Beast's mindscape."
Wang nodded agreeably, then turned and sat back down in front of the Go board, picking up a black stone:
"Alright. I'll leave that to you. When everything's ready, just call on me to fight the Year Beast——"
Wang hadn't even finished the sentence before he caught the look on Anthony's face — the expression of a man watching a complete and utter fool.
Only then did he slowly realize something seemed off.
"Why are you sitting back down?"
Anthony said flatly. "What — are you scared of seeing your own family? Has your whole brain been reduced to 'fight the Year Beast'?"
"Come on. We're bringing Jie and going to visit the others one by one. Don't think I didn't notice you barely said two words last time before sneaking out early."
"You were dead silent at the last gathering too — only answered when someone spoke to you directly. Besides, that gathering had too many people at once. Some things aren't easy to talk about in a crowd. This time, let's just go see everyone individually."
Looking at Anthony's faint, unreadable smile, Wang had a strong and inexplicable feeling that whatever awaited him was not going to be pleasant.
Instinctively, he started to turn back around and resume his game of Go — until Anthony's quiet voice drifted over:
"Do you or do you not want to resurrect Jie?"
After a very long silence, Wang slowly, grudgingly got to his feet.
Full of helplessness and sighs.
When Anthony tracked down Jie, she agreed quickly — almost without hesitation, and with remarkable ease.
Especially once she heard that Wang would be coming along too. That made her agree even more readily.
"Perfect. I felt like I didn't get enough time at the last gathering. There were so many people I didn't get to talk to properly — the whole thing ended before we'd barely said anything."
"This time we can actually have a proper chat. And it'll be a good chance for Second Brother to get reacquainted with life again."
She smiled as she gave Anthony her answer.
Life again. She said those words with absolute certainty — as though she believed from the bottom of her heart that Anthony was fully capable of making this happen.
Anthony said nothing in response to that trust. He simply returned a smile.
Then he pinged Carmen in the group chat so hard the notification practically shot off sparks.
She was one of the most essential people for this — there was no way she could be absent.
Though, ever since he'd spirited Angela away, Carmen seemed a bit disinclined to respond to him... but come on, was it really that big a deal? He'd only stolen one daughter from her.
But when Carmen kept not replying, Anthony simply gave up.
Fine. He'd just call her when the time came. She'd definitely show up then.
So Anthony set Carmen aside entirely. Cradling Jie's little dragon bubble in his arms, he and Wang slipped away from the ancient temple in the dead of night while Sisuitai wasn't watching.
As a thoughtful parting gesture, he spent a few points to have the River Styx lend some effort — leaving behind spiritual phantoms of himself and Wang in the temple, plastering a nice thin layer of paper over Sisuitai's eyes.
Of course, when Sisuitai eventually noticed that every single Year Shard had vanished without a trace — what they'd make of that was no longer Anthony's problem.
The first stop was naturally Yumen.
Anthony activated the beacon he'd left there last time and phase-shifted directly onto the walls of Yumen Pass.
Sure enough, without fail, Wang promptly received another lecture from Chongyue.
After quite a long while, Wang silently peeled himself away from Chongyue's side and made his escape. Only then did Anthony approach Chongyue with an awkward smile.
"Ah — Third Sister's here too."
Chongyue looked down at Anthony and the little dragon bubble in his arms, and nodded with quiet understanding. Anthony exhaled lightly and spoke:
"Good to see you, Big Brother."
"It's been a few days. How has little Thirteen been lately?"
Chongyue gave Anthony a clap on the shoulder — which made Anthony wince visibly for a moment. After he recovered, he said helplessly:
"Big Brother, please don't do that next time. It hurts."
This avatar really didn't come with the same physical constitution as the Year family...
Chongyue pretended not to hear. "What brings you here this time?"
Anthony composed his expression, then said to Chongyue: "We're preparing to purge the Year Beast."
Chongyue was taken aback. A long moment passed before he frowned and asked: "So soon?"
"The timing's about right. The bulk of the preparation is done, we have a plan, and we're in the process of gathering everyone now."
Anthony shook his head, then looked up at Chongyue and said: "According to the plan, Big Brother — you're the main force."
"Me?"
Chongyue frowned. "Are you sure? I can't guarantee there won't be problems. I gave up my proxy body long ago, so if something goes wrong——"
Anthony's eye twitched.
Alright, Big Brother. Please. We do not need another recounting of the legendary wall that could kill you by falling on you, the world's most lethal poison that could finish you off, or the invincible high-speed warship that could cut you down.
And for the record — the Year Beast is neither a wall, nor a poison, nor a high-speed warship.
He sighed, then said plainly: "I can let you temporarily reclaim your own power — and sharpen it further."
"Don't worry. There will be absolutely no side effects. Not even your own will and consciousness will be altered in any way. Once the Year Beast is dealt with, it will all naturally fade."
Chongyue was briefly stunned. But now that Anthony had laid it out so clearly, there was nothing left to question.
So at last, he gave a nod:
"Very well. Then I leave it to you. If the Year Beast can finally be purged, it will be one less thorn in all our sides."
"Have you contacted the other brothers and sisters yet?"
"Not yet — about to do that next. And I'm dragging Second Brother along for the ride, which should at least make up for him sitting there like a plank of wood at the last gathering."
Anthony shrugged as he said this, and a trace of a smile surfaced on Chongyue's face:
"Good. That's exactly what should happen. Drag him around more — that's the kind of thing this guy needs, someone pulling him along."
"Cheer up. If he gives you any trouble on the road, or refuses to cooperate, you tell me."
He said this, then looked past Anthony at Jie, putting on a mock-stern face. "That goes for you too."
"Understood, Big Brother," Jie said with a mild smile.
Anthony straightened up and gave his eldest brother a solemn nod.
Right. Today, poor Wang was going to be on the move whether he liked it or not.
And so, bidding farewell to Chongyue, Anthony pried Wang out of whatever corner he'd wedged himself into and relayed everything Chongyue had said word for word.
Then, amid Wang's increasingly palpable resentment, Anthony kept dragging him onward to the next destination.
In Anthony's plan, each Year Shard had their own specific role to play.
The core objective pointed to one thing: find a way to let the Year Beast enter a permanent sleep without causing any ripple effects whatsoever.
Aside from Big Brother handling the Year Beast directly with three decisive blows, everyone else's role was to minimize the impact and assist in sending the Year Beast into that eternal slumber.
Anthony had categorized Nian, Yi, Ji, and the others as belonging to the former group, while Ling, Xi, Jun, and the rest fell primarily into the latter.
The next one to find was Ling. When they tracked her down, she was drinking.
She listened to the plan readily enough — and agreed to it without any fuss.
It was just the part where she saw Wang that caused some complications. The moment she realized Wang had come along to mend family ties, Ling made her decision swiftly and decisively.
She shoved a wine gourd into Wang's hands and proceeded to force-feed him alcohol with great enthusiasm.
One could only say — it was plainly obvious that Ling had spent years mediating between Wang and their eldest brother, and had accumulated a considerable amount of pent-up grievance over it.
Ling herself got a bit too carried away and ended up drinking herself tipsy. In the end, it was only Jie pulling her back that stopped the increasingly scalp-tingling ordeal from continuing.
And then Wang had to endure a scolding from Jie on top of everything — for not drinking gracefully enough, and for not having the sense to say a few words and excuse himself if he genuinely couldn't keep up.
In short: more scolding.
It was Anthony who finally pulled both of them away to the next stop, extricating everyone from that particular scene.
After Ling, Anthony had originally planned to find Shu next — but Wang was starting to look genuinely worn out, and under his protests, they agreed to visit Ji first instead.
This time, Wang finally had an easier time of it. After a proper talk with Ji, he left feeling genuinely lighter — practically bolting to the next destination.
At least nobody yelled at him. That was real progress.
For Wang, there was one advantage to visiting the younger siblings in the family: the little ones still looked up to him, at least a little.
With one exception, naturally — the Year family's thirteenth sibling.
As for Yi and Nian, neither had much to say to Wang either. They agreed to Anthony's plan without hesitation.
With Anthony's help, they slipped quietly into the underworld vessel — while Anthony left spiritual phantoms behind in their original locations to keep up appearances.
Ji also entered the vessel. With three proxies now gathered inside, Anthony put forward a design concept drawn from his experience as the Artificer. Then, using the three of their Authorities plus points provided by Anthony himself, they began drafting an entirely new blueprint.
Next up was a hop over to little Yu. Anthony had a genuinely pleasant chat with him; Jie also added a few words of warm concern. The two of them got on famously, just like old times.
The only problem was that no matter how many pointed looks Anthony sent Wang's way, Wang stubbornly refused to say a word — staring straight ahead with the glazed detachment of a monk in meditation, clearly resolved to keep his mouth shut.
That part was distinctly not like old times.
"Second Brother, could you at least say something?"
Anthony looked at Wang, momentarily at a loss, then prompted him.
Wang turned back with an equally wordless look, glanced at Yu — who was now excitedly pulling out a book and spreading it open to show Jie — and finally let out a slow sigh.
"Forget it," Wang said suddenly.
"I'm not used to this anymore."
"At a time like this, I'd only be making myself an unwelcome nuisance."
His eyes were as still and unreadable as ever — betraying nothing, giving no clue as to whether it was intentional. Whether he was deliberately burying his own feelings beneath that placid surface.
But Anthony, looking at Wang, frowned. Then he spoke directly:
"What? Are you actually afraid of being unwelcome?"
Wang fell silent and stopped responding. Anthony sighed, then looked at the scene before him and said quietly:
"Second Brother — do you think I dragged you out here for nothing?"
He watched the two of them interacting and said softly:
"Honestly, there was no real need for it. I have a mouth of my own — you've done nothing on this trip except get scolded. I could have called everyone together by myself. Couldn't I?"
He posed the question to Wang, then lifted his gaze and spoke in the quiet that followed:
"So then — why do you think I brought you along?"
Wang said nothing. He simply watched Yu and Jie.
Then he turned away from the scene and looked at Anthony instead.
"Personally, I think you're just enjoying yourself."
"And does that mean I can't also have expectations for you?"
Anthony shot back immediately. Once again, Wang fell silent — until Anthony's voice came, quiet and steady:
"Second Brother. You need to learn how to come back to your own life."
He said it, then turned to look at Wang squarely, word by deliberate word:
"You've been away from your life for too long. It's time to go back."
"Whether you get scolded, whether you're an unwelcome guest, whether you walk around with a dark cloud on your face in front of everyone every single day — it doesn't matter. But at least, you should go back. Shouldn't you?"
"Because of the Year Beast, and because of Jie's departure before — you've put so much distance between yourself and everyone else. You've taken on too much, all by yourself. So much that you've forgotten that you were meant to be among them. You've even forgotten what it felt like to be among them."
Anthony sighed again. "So — go over and say a few words, alright? At the very least, it's good practice."
"Like Jie said — Second Brother, it's time to set down those burdens. At least, learn how to come back to your own life."
Wang was silent.
He gave no answer. He simply kept watching.
Until, after a long, long silence, he suddenly gave a short, self-mocking laugh:
"What if I go over there, say something — and then Jie chases me back?"
"Then you come back," Anthony said, mouth curving.
"I'm happy to watch either way. Got a problem with that?"
"Besides — even that would be better than you sitting here like this. At least it'd mean you had a pulse."
Wang was quiet for a long while. Then he sighed, and finally, very slowly, moved his feet.
At that very moment, Jie turned around almost instantly — wearing that half-smiling look of hers — and the words came out before she could stop them:
"You finally decided to come over?"
"I——" Wang opened his mouth, but couldn't find any words. Jie just smiled.
"Come on, hurry up. I just came across the phrase 'burning the lute for firewood and boiling the crane for soup' — you're just in time."
At last, a trace of a smile appeared on Wang's face. He stepped forward.
Yu glanced up at Wang — and none of that old wariness from years past remained in his eyes.
After a good long while of warmth and laughter, Wang's footsteps seemed somehow lighter as he walked away from Yu's Lingering Flavor Lodge at Anthony's side.
"Let's find the next one," Wang said, taking the initiative this time.
Anthony nodded, and they set off on the next leg of the journey.
And then nothing went according to plan.
Things had a way of turning awkward exactly at moments like these.
When they went to find Fang, the awkward thing happened: they couldn't find him.
All they found was a set of scales Fang had left behind. The rest — nothing.
What could you do — sometimes things just don't go your way. Fortunately, the plan wouldn't be too badly thrown off. Anthony simply talked it over with Wang and they moved on to the next one.
Skipping past Fang, the only ones left — setting aside Shu and Jun who were being saved for last — were Xi.
And this time, after the teleportation, the unexpected appeared right on schedule.
When they touched down at the beacon's location, taking in the mountains and waterways all around, Wang was first silent — and then let out an involuntary sigh.
Even Jie and Anthony fell quiet for a moment.
No sign of Xi. The conclusion was already obvious enough.
That one was definitely hiding in some corner somewhere, hunkered down at home and refusing to come out.
"What are you going to do now? We've already failed to find one person — you can't come away empty-handed this time too, can you?"
Wang turned to Anthony with that question, a faint undercurrent of exasperation in his voice.
"You're right, we can't come away empty-handed this time."
Anthony nodded and let out his own sigh. Then he turned to face the mountain range ahead of him and took a long, slow breath.
Though, to be fair to himself — he wasn't quite out of options yet.
There was still one more method available.
"Wait here. I've got an idea," he said to Wang without turning around.
Then, raising his voice toward the great mountain ahead, he shouted:
"XI JIE!!!"
____
👻🔥Whant more?: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Samsara Game: Starting in The Long Dark with My Waifus
Let's reach these milestones together:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 free chapter for all readers